1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for presenting electronic advertisements to users by using broadcasting. In particular, this invention relates to an advertisement method capable of selectively presenting a specific advertisement to a specific user after considering the time, position, and preference of the user, an advertisement apparatus, an advertisement receiver comprising the apparatus, and a recording medium which programs thereof are stored in.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional broadcast advertising, a broadcasting station broadcasts the same advertisements to all viewers and listeners, as is the case in over-ground wave television broadcasting and over-ground wave radio broadcasting. The viewers and listeners merely view/listen to the received advertisements in an unaltered state.
Since the range of the radio waves broadcast from the broadcast station is limited, the advertisements consequently have a certain degree of regionality. Nevertheless, the broadcasting is global, making it possible to present advertisements locally in accordance with the position of listeners and viewers.
Published Japanese Patent translation No. WO96/04633 of PCT proposes a method for presenting to a user in a vehicle details of advertisements relating to areas in the vicinity of the vehicle. The advertisement is transmitted by broadcasting sound and data, the sound being presented to the user in an unaltered state and not accumulating in the vehicle, and the data corresponding to the sound broadcast and accumulating in the vehicle. The advertisement is received by an apparatus provided in the vehicle.
However, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-505441, details of the advertisement are presented by receiving the data transmission after listening to the sound broadcast. For this reason, it is difficult to reproduce a complete advertisement to the user at any given time. As a consequence, it is difficult to increase the probability that advertisements which are broadcast while the apparatus is not in use will be received.
In conventional advertisement broadcasting, the valid period of the advertisement depends on the period and duration of the broadcast. However, since it is impossible to link the position of the advertisement with the position of the user, even when advertisements are broadcast only during sales campaigns and the business hours of stores, it is often difficult for users to purchase the advertised products and services during that time. In that case, the users either make the purchase on another occasion or forget about it altogether. Consequently, the company sponsoring the advertisement loses an opportunity for sale.
Conventionally, advertisements are inserted during programs which it is estimated that many target users are watching, supposedly presenting advertisements which suit the preferences of the users. However, this method targets only group preferences and does not consider the preferences of individual users.